Updated at 7:30 p.m.: Revised throughout to include additional information.

A Houston-area family is pleading that the thief who stole their infants' ashes return them.

Julien Gracely

(Siobhan Gracely)

The residential break-in and robbery happened while Siobhan Gracely and her husband, AJ, were in San Antonio for a half-marathon over the weekend.

When the couple returned home, they realized thieves had broken in and stolen jewelry from their bedroom. The burglars also took a small ceramic cube that contained the ashes of their infant son, Julien.

"His life has already been tragically taken away from him," Siobhan Gracely said Wednesday. "And then to have his ashes stolen as well. It's just the most heart-wrenching situation."

Gracely said the 11-week-old died in September 2016.

She thinks the box, described as a small white cube with a teddy bear on one side, was stolen because of its location near the couple's watches.

The cube used to store Julien Gracely's ashes. The cube was stolen during a burglary of Siobhan and AJ Gracely's home.

(Siobhan Gracely)

"I am certain they thought the box containing the ashes was used to store jewelry," Caroline Kalil Baizan, Gracely's sister, wrote on Facebook. "When they do unscrew the cube, they will throw the box along with their young son's ashes away."

The cube had never been opened after Julien's death, the family told TV station KTRK. Gracely hopes someone sees the box and returns it.

"We want his ashes back. Those belong to his parents, and we should be able to do what we want to do with those ashes," Gracely said. "Those are ours. That's what we have left of him other than his memory."

Anyone with information is asked to reach out to the West University Place Police Department at 713-668-0330.